


Power of the Twilight

by Luxie



Series: The Lion of Azeroth and the Mage Named Trust [1]
Category: Warcraft (2016), Warcraft - All Media Types, Warcraft Movies, World of Warcraft
Genre: Based on movie Lore, LionTrust, Lothgar, M/M, Post Movie, Spoilers for the whole movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-10 23:01:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7011754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxie/pseuds/Luxie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is an art to war, an art to staying alive, but it has very little to do with wielding a sword or hitting your mark. Instead it has everything to do with trusting the person next to you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Power of the Twilight

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [Power of the Twilight 暮光之力](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7155449) by [Augathra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augathra/pseuds/Augathra)



Lothar takes betrayal hard, he always has. Death he can handle; death is a much kinder way to lose someone, more final, cleaner, while betrayal leaves a festering pain that no amount of alcohol can burn out. That doesn't stop him from trying, though.

He's on his fourth flagon of mead when he hears his name mentioned and he turns his head to see barkeep Dobbins point in his direction. Luckily the newcomer is no threat, because Lothar is in no shape to fight anyone - not that he wouldn't try if needed.

“They told me to look for you here.” Khadgar says as he takes the chair opposite Lothar. For a moment Lothar feels a rush of annoyance; He doesn't need someone to look out for him, to hold his hand or comfort him. Then he realizes that Khadgar might be the one looking for company. He has a kind heart, this Mage, which makes it hard for him to see people die, but that's not a bad thing; Lothar admires his innocence, he just knows it won't last.

“You don't have a drink.” Lothar points out, gesturing for Dobbins to bring over another round for them both.

“No, I don't-” Khadgar protests, but Lothar is having none of it.

“If we are to toast you'll need a drink.” he says.

“I can't teleport back if I drink.”

“So we'll share my horse.”

“I don't care very much for horses.” Khadgar says, frowning at the flagon of mead barkeep Dobbins places before him. “In fact, I don't care much for alcohol either.”

“You don't drink?” Lothar asks, eyebrows going up.

Khadgar shakes his head with an apologetic smile. “It meddles with my connection to the arcane.”

Lothar looks at the young man for a long moment, at the soft features and the earnest, brown eyes. His hands can cast spells that will crush a man, but he looks so inconspicuous as he sits there in his blue travel cloak.

“I don't trust a man who don't drink.” Lothar lies, pushing the flagon closer to Khadgar.

“Is that so?” The Mage says and with a roll of his eyes he takes the handle of the flagon and sips at it cautiously. There are soft lines between his brows and a line of foam on his upper lip as he puts the mead down. It's honestly distracting.

“So what else don't your kind do?” Lothar asks, trying to take his own mind off Khadgar's mouth.

“My kind?” Khadgar asks, wiping the foam away.

“Mages.” Lothar clarifies. “Up there on your pedestal in the clouds.”

“I guess you see us as being cold and detached, but there is a reason for that.” Khadgar explains. “You draw your power from inside, from your passion and your rage. I draw mine from my surroundings. Emotions fuel you, but for me they blur things up. Hate is detrimental. Love is a distraction.”

“That much we agree on. Love is very distracting. But so is bottling up your lust and sexual frustration.”

“I'm not frustrated!” Khadgar says, sounding indignant.

“Is that so?” Lothar smiles, “You've never lain with anyone, have you? You said it yourself, you've been with the Mage Guild for years-”

“The Kirin Tor does not require celibacy.”

“But they encourage it?”

“No.”

“Just you, then?” Lothar presses. Khadgar doesn't answer, but he looks wounded and Lothar regrets prodding when apparently the subject is a sore spot for the young Mage. In an attempt to distract him Lothar says, “Are you going to drink with me or not?”

“I really don't like riding horses.” Khadgar says, meeting Lothar's eyes in the dim light.

“My horse knows the road to Stormwind.” Lothar promises and lifts his own flagon to toast. “The Light knows it has walked it before.”

The morning light is much too sharp and the birds much to happy. Lothar tries to bury his head under his covers, but now that he's awake he can't ignore his full bladder. As soon as his feet hit the floor he sees Khadgar sitting in a chair by the door, reading.

“Can't you remove this awful headache?” Lothar says as he drags himself to the screens hiding his chamber pot.

“No.” Comes the reply, Khadgar sounding completely disinterested in Lothar's suffering.

“Then what's the point of you?” Lothar asks as he empties his bladder. Then a thought hits him and he sticks his head out from behind the screens to look at the reading Mage. “Have you been watching me all night?”

“Of course not.” Khadger says, still focused on his book. “ It's past noon, so I looked in on you on the Queen's request.”

“My sister meddles.” Lothar says, heading directly for his bed again, stripping off his sweaty and smelly night shirt as he goes. He's happy to note that Khadgar's eyes drift from the pages to follow him, even if he quickly looks away again when he realize he's been caught staring.

“Your sister is kind and caring.” Khadgar says, voice not completely even. “I shall miss her.”

Hangover forgotten, Lothar stops in his tracks. “You're leaving?”

“Not just yet, but soon.” Khadgar says with a soft smile that makes Lothar's heart hurt as much as his head.

“I let Medivh slip away into isolation." Lothar says. He hates how wounded he sounds, but hates how wounded he feels more. He doesn't need another reason to feel like this, so he follows it up with, "I should hate to risk you, too.”

“I'm not going to betray you like Medivh did.” Khadgar promises, voice and face equally earnest. “He had been corrupted at birth, raised by Fel to weave his way into the heart of Azeroth. There was nothing anyone could have done. He was skilled at keeping secrets, hence his name.”

“` _Keeper of secrets´_ in Thalassian.”

“That's right.” Khadgar says, sounding surprised.

“And if I remember my Dwarvish correctly your name means ` _trust_ ´.”

“And here I took you for a warrior, not a scholar.”

“The Royal Library has a fine collection of books. In fact the Clerics of Northshire has brought in most of the books from the Abbey after it was destroyed by the Horde. I think you would find it interesting.”

“I appreciate your attempt at swaying me into staying here and as I said; I won't leave just yet, but what I have to learn I won't find in books. If this war has taught me anything it's that.”

“Where will you go?” Lothar demands, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “You said the Tower of Karazhan had sealed itself off?”

“It has and maybe that's for the best. That place is riddled with darkness now. Someone will have to deal with it eventually, but I am not strong enough to do it alone. Not yet, anyway; I still have much to learn. Besides, we've lost our Guardian and the realm is still in need of protection.”

 “Which is why Stormwind needs you here.” Lothar presses, a swirl of desperation in his voice that may or may not betray that Lothar needs him too. “This war may be over, but another is already on the horizon.”

“And I need to be ready for it.” Khadgar says calmly, eyes sad.

“You're just a kid.” Lothar says, but even as he speaks the words he knows they aren't true. Khadgar is older than Lothar's son was and Callan had already been a soldier in his own right, brave and strong. But Callan had been training for war for years, while it had been clear as day that Khadgar had no experience with combat before this war had started; the fear in his eyes had betrayed him. Lothar might be The Lion of Azeroth, but he knows fear well enough when he sees it. He's seen it get the better of good men, seen it close up in the eyes of his foes.

Khadgar, to be fair, hadn't seemed to be crippled by his fear. Khadgar does feel fear, but he controls it and perhaps that makes him stronger than Lothar had given him credit for. His eyes never fail to meet Lothar's when he is making one of his vexing observations. His hand might shake, but his spells hit true like a Hunter's arrow. Being a Mage he has never had the need for travelling on a Gryphon's back, but he had gone with Lothar when it was needed, even if his grip around Lothar's chest had been desperate.

Lothar remembers the young Mage pressing against his back as they flew, partly to shelter himself from the rush of oncoming wind, but also to draw strength from Lothar's calm. Lothar hadn't minded. In fact it had been more than a little intoxicating to be on the receiving end of such a display of trust. To his knowledge Mages didn't trust easily; That was why their city floated among the clouds. Yet this Mage had trusted him and to his own surprise Lothar had trusted him back. It was easy now to understand how the Mage had gotten his name.

Lothar debates with himself whether or not he should journey to the Lion's Pride Inn, but his heart is not in the mood for a crowded room tonight. Instead he seeks out Khadgar in his tower in the Mage Quarters.

“I thought I would spare you the trouble of coming to Goldshire to pick me up later.” Lothar says and places the jug of Elly's finest Bourbon on the table, amongst Khadgar's scrolls and drawings. The Mage frowns at him, but doesn't comment, instead continuing his work of scribbling down runes on the floor.

“Are you hoping to take this tower with you when you leave?” Lothar asks, recognizing the runes for teleportation.

“No, but having a strong connection to a place will make it easier to teleport to it. These runes will help me find my way here, if I'm ever in a clutch situation.” He seems to finish and gets to his feet, brushing his hands against each other as he surveys his work from above. Apparently satisfied he turns to look at Lothar and the bottle of bourbon.

“Again?”

“This is quite different than mead.” Lothar promises, holding out the jug to Khadgar, who takes it hesitantly, sniffing it suspiciously before taking a sip.

“It's strong.” Khadger says, taking a second, larger sip. Lothar smiles.

It doesn't take much for Khadgar to loosen up and Lothar makes sure he never drinks too much, just enough to get him chatty, but not enough to take away his senses. Taking a swing of the jug himself, Lothar finally decides it's the right time to start prodding again.

“Why would Garona think you wouldn't be a very good mate?”

Khadgar flinches at the mention of Garona. Maybe he hadn't expected to hear her name ever again, maybe he hadn't expected to hear it from Lothar's mouth, but Lothar doesn't hide from his demons; Better Khadgar learns that now.

“You heard her.” The Mage says after a moment, “I'm too weak and fragile.”

“No, that's not why. She had seen you fight. She had seen the power you wield. Maybe you can't lift a sword or a mace, but you are dangerous in your own way.”

“Maybe orcs don't put much worth in spells?”

“They chose to follow a warlock.” Lothar picks up a book from the table and flips through its brittle pages. Wide-eyed Khadgar leans in to snatch the book from his hands, but Lothar has his fingers locking around Khadgar's wrist before he can pull away. “I think you know and won't tell me.”

A word out of Khadgar's mouth and Lothar would be slammed against the wall, but instead the Mage just stares at his wrist, at the callous hand holding him in place. Slowly his eyes come up to meet Lothar's.

“I told you I left the Kirin Tor, but I didn't tell you why.” he swallows, eyes flickering to his wrist and Lothar loosens his hold. Khadgar doesn't pull away. “I also told you that while celibacy isn't required love is seen as a distraction there. If you love someone you are connected to them and being connected means you can't be neutral. Being Neutral is what the Kirin Tor is all about.” He pauses, hesitates. “I made the mistake of falling in love with another Mage. We were told to break off our relationship and we did, but I knew I couldn't live like that, with being told my feelings were wrong, so I left them.”

“What happened to the other Mage?”

“I don't know. I suppose-” he lets out a shaky breath, “I suppose he's still with the Kirin Tor.”

Lothar lets the confession, in all its details, sink in and then waits for Khadgar to lift his eyes so he can meet them.

“Your feelings aren't wrong.” he says, letting go completely of Khadgar's wrist, but holding his stare. “We both saw what happened to our last Guardian. The High Elves might find solace in the arcane, but loneliness is not good for the Human heart.”

“Is that why you don't want me to leave?”

“I'm sure you will make friends where ever your journey takes you.” Lothar admits reluctantly.

“And you?” Khadgar says, catching Lothar off guard. “You've lost your King, you lost your son, lost so many friends. How would your heart fare if you lost me too?”

Lothar says nothing, can't say anything that isn't either a direct lie or far too incriminating.

“So I was right.” Khadgar says with a soft smile. “That is why I have to leave now, you see? Before leaving becomes painful.”

“What if it's already past that point?” Lothar asks, staring at the jug of Bourbon, knowing that it could make the pain go away easily.

“I would give you what ever you wanted if I thought it would ease your pain, but I suspect it would only have the opposite effect.” Khadgar says, “That bourbon might do a better job of it than I will.”

“I don't feel like getting drunk.” Lothar says truthfully. He gets to his feet and walks around the small table, coming to a halt in front of Khadger. With a gentle finger he lifts the Mage's chin. “Would you really give me whatever I wanted?”

“I would,” the Mage says, voice broken.

The sun is setting behind Stormwind Keep, veiling the tower in orange as Lothar strips the Mage of his clothes. Khadgar's eyes are wide, lips parted and his hands come up to offer their help, but Lothar isn't in a hurry. He takes his time, memorising every shiver, every gasp, revelling in what he is being given. Life is short, a Warrior's even more so, and Lothar knows one day soon his time will come.

So for once in his life Lothar takes without apologizing for it. He takes every moan, every touch. He takes the look of awe and need in Khadgar's eyes and stores it away in his heart, and when twilight sets Lothar presses a final soft kiss to Khadgar's collarbone, feeling empty and full at the same time. He barely notice as the runes around them start glowing blue, but he hears Khadgar's voice, close to his ear.

“There. Now I will always be able to find my way home.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I am declaring myself captain of the LionTrust ship.  
> [Visit my Tumblr](http://flyingassassin.tumblr.com/)


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